The next morning, Kemal feels so humiliated that he resolves to never see Füsun again. He starts entertaining Vecihe’s offers to match him with other society girls. He also commits himself to working to stop thinking about Füsun.

After telling the story of his affair to a colleague, passing it off as a respectable young man’s experience, Kemal decides to clarify to Füsun that he left her earring in the bathroom on purpose. Füsun tells him that she didn’t find her earring. Kemal realizes that his real intention was to see Füsun again to stop himself from feeling melancholy in her absence. Once again, Kemal feigns happiness and indicates that he will no longer visit the Keskins because he wants his mother to invite them over instead.

On the way home, he bumps into Feridun and expresses interest in the film industry. They agree to meet again.

Kemal fantasizes that Füsun will one day publicly thank him for supporting her acting career. He convinces himself that he can reclaim Füsun from Feridun this way. He keeps his appointment with Feridun and Füsun, taking them to a restaurant for dinner. Feridun explains his desire to make an art film that avoids all the pitfalls of commercial films. Kemal expresses curiosity in the industry, which Feridun is happy to indulge. They meet again several more times over the summer.

Kemal realizes that he finds happiness simply being in Füsun’s presence. He stops taking Vecihe’s matchmaking proposals seriously. When he tells her that he has been spending time with Füsun and her new husband, Vecihe mocks Füsun’s ambitions to enter the film industry, prompting Kemal to defend her.

Kemal sees a total of 50 movies with Feridun and Füsun over the summer. This becomes Kemal’s formal introduction to the Istanbul film industry. He describes one film, which follows a fisherman who tries to save a girl’s “honor” after she is raped by his patron’s son. The film shocks Kemal, partly because it openly discusses the value of “virginity” and because he is watching it with Füsun. He realizes that Turkish people watch movies to learn how to accept defeat with grace.

Kemal pays close attention to Füsun and Feridun on each outing, feeling envy whenever Füsun shows her husband affection. He is delighted on the rare occasion when he can make accidental physical contact with Füsun. At one point, Füsun asks him if he really enjoys the movies or if he enjoys their company. Kemal answers that he finds the movies consoling, but admits that he enjoys sitting beside Füsun. When Kemal tries to flirt with her, Füsun bluntly tells him that they are merely waiting for Kemal to finance their film project.

Kemal feels humiliated over Füsun’s statement, though he prefers this feeling to the pain of her absence. He considers taking revenge on Füsun by withdrawing his support from their film. He soon realizes, however, that Füsun would regret her failed ambitions more than his absence from her life. Realizing it was wrong to desire Füsun’s failure, Kemal forgives her blunt comment. He also becomes conscious of the resentment he felt once he started seeing Füsun more regularly.

When he starts seeing Füsun and Feridun again, Kemal notices that they have grown cold toward him. Kemal tries not to show any penitence toward Füsun, hoping that Füsun will capitulate first. This only exacerbates the pain of his humiliation.

Kemal tries to resolve the issue by bringing Füsun the pearl earrings Mümtaz intended to give to his lover. When he arrives at the house, he is greeted by Nesibe, who confides her belief that Füsun has gone down the “wrong path.” She reveals that Tarık proposed for Feridun to marry Füsun to help her move on from the entrance exam debacle. At present, Feridun is spending less time at home and is paying Füsun very little attention. She encourages Kemal to continue supporting Füsun, predicting that she will eventually leave Feridun. When Kemal asks about Füsun’s missing earring, Nesibe confesses that she knows nothing about it. She invites Kemal to visit them more regularly.

Over the next seven years, Kemal visits the Keskin household under the pretense of spending time with the family. Kemal explains how he managed to endure this condition for such a prolonged time: He saw time as a social construct whose purpose was to regulate one’s relationship with the world. Whenever he entered the Keskin household, he felt as though he entered another realm where time stopped existing.

Kemal relates this to Aristotle’s notion of the present moment, which remains indivisible from all other moments. By entering the house, he would forget that time divided one moment from another and live fully in the present. Instead of counting the eight years, Kemal counts the 1,593 present moments he spent happy in Füsun’s company.

Nesibe always receives Kemal upon his arrival, finding various ways to make him feel at home. Kemal also brings gifts for the family, like Füsun’s favorite pastries. Kemal often takes Feridun’s place since he is usually out in the evenings. Kemal uses the family activities to get closer to Füsun.

In 1980, martial law is declared in Türkiye. This requires Kemal to leave the house at a certain time in observance of curfew. At the end of each visit, Aunt Nesibe extends an invitation for him to return the following day.

Whenever Kemal feels ashamed of his presence, he retreats to a back room where he can look out the balcony. On one such occasion, Füsun joins him there, which Kemal takes as a sign that she enjoys his presence. Nevertheless, Kemal restrains his passionate feelings, biding his time until their eventual union. When Kemal does express admiration for Füsun’s beauty, Füsun coldly deflects.

Tarık is hesitant about letting Füsun appear in a movie, fearing it will worsen her reputation further. Kemal and Feridun thus keep their planning discussions secret to avoid his fury. This gives Kemal enough of an alibi to avoid Feridun’s suspicions.

Feridun finishes the screenplay for the film he will make with Füsun, entitled Blue Rain. Kemal is surprised that the script features many commercial film tropes, like nudity. Kemal starts to share Tarık’s reluctance, but he feigns enthusiasm with the output so that he can continue seeing Füsun. They continue going out together, most often to a film industry establishment called the Pelür Bar. Many bar patrons try to flirt with Füsun, making it necessary for Kemal to keep her company while Feridun talks to his colleagues. The patrons often try to cast her in their own film projects.

Kemal makes two friends among the bar patrons, an actress named Sühendan Yıldız and an actor named Salih Sarılı. Through Salih, he learns that many film workers moonlight for the Turkish porn industry. Through Sühendan, Kemal learns which producers he should avoid introducing Füsun to because of their exploitative reputations. To prove to Füsun that he is serious about producing their project, Kemal opens a production firm called Lemon Films.

Vecihe complains that Kemal no longer spends any time with her, forcing him to split his evenings between home and the Keskin residence. Consequently, Vecihe becomes more concerned for Kemal’s safety, worrying about the increased street violence between the nationalists and the communists. Kemal is more concerned, however, with his chronic inability to leave the Keskin residence at the proper time. He explains that this difficulty stems from either performative courtesy or the promise of a small affection from Füsun. The latter is enough to restore a sense of meaning and beauty in his life.

On the rare occasion that Feridun is home, Kemal uses the opportunity to talk business with him as an excuse to stay longer. However, this only encourages Füsun’s acting dreams, causing her to spend more time outdoors to meet with potential collaborators. Kemal has to convince Feridun to let Füsun stay home so that she doesn’t get involved with collaborators who could ruin her reputation.

Kemal remains in contact with Zaim, who updates him on the developments in Kemal’s former social circle. One such update is that Mehmet and Nurcihan, while getting closer together, have not had premarital sex. This discussion leads him to reference Sibel and Kemal’s affair, which upsets Kemal.

Kemal celebrates New Year’s Eve 1976 playing tombola with the Keskins, marking a stark shift in his life from the year before. Kemal feels melancholic about the absence of his friends, causing Füsun to pay more attention to him.

Tombala becomes a staple of the Keskins’ New Year’s celebration over the next eight years. Once, Kemal wins a handkerchief that previously belonged to Füsun. Another year, Tarık wins an antique drinking glass that Kemal hoped would remind Füsun of their last tryst before his engagement party. She does not recognize it, leaving Kemal crestfallen. Through the gifts Kemal gives to the Keskin family, he better assimilates into the family’s life. Conversely, he also gives himself more opportunities to collect things that Füsun has touched in the household.

Kemal meets a state censor and filmmaker named Hayal Hayati, who is determined to cast Füsun in a project, knowing that he can arbitrarily bend the censorship rules in his favor to make Füsun do whatever he wants onscreen. Through Hayati, Kemal learns the nuances of the censorship rules.

The first step of the process involves using an agent to get the screenplay approved by the censorship board. For this, Kemal and Feridun hire a script doctor named Daktilo Demir, who returns their screenplay three months later. The slow process irritates Füsun, who tries to pass the time by taking up painting as a hobby. Kemal supports her by giving her supplies and encouraging her series of Istanbul bird paintings. Feridun expresses his intent to rewrite Daktilo’s version of the script, delaying production further. Füsun becomes anxious to accept another casting offer in the meantime, prompting Kemal to discourage her.

Kemal and Feridun employ various means to distract Füsun from committing to other projects until they can start producing their film. Eventually, Kemal enlists Nesibe and Tarık to help them, ensuring that they go out nightly to dinner as a family. Many of the establishments they visit are restaurants along the Bosphorus.

One night, the family is dining at the Huzur Restaurant when an actor named Tahir Tan approaches their table. Tahir wants Füsun’s parents to give Füsun their consent to participate in films that feature kissing scenes. Kemal and Feridun try to shoo him away, but Tahir insists on making his request. After Tahir leaves, Kemal registers Füsun’s frustration with him for denying her opportunities to fulfill her dream.

The family decides to restrict Füsun from visiting any film industry establishments, afraid that other industry professionals could exploit her. This upsets Füsun, forcing Kemal to expedite production of Feridun’s film. During this period, Kemal observes that Füsun keeps giving him furtive glances, making him curious about their meaning. He infers that she is doing it to spite him, which he resents.

Kemal tries to counter her with menacing looks, but this does little to faze Füsun. One evening, Füsun confronts him in front of Nesibe, urging him to stop staring at her that way. Though they never resolve the tension that night, Kemal continues to visit the Keskins, relenting by giving Füsun loving glances.

Thanks to his regular visits, Kemal manages to perform better at work. Around this time, Osman, Kenan, and Turgay’s joint venture, Tekyay, emerges as a fierce competitor to Satsat.

Kemal continues to encourage Füsun’s painting hobby, even promising to bring her to the museums in Paris. These encounters bring Kemal a sense of peace that prevents him from worrying over the Tekyay situation.

Kemal’s peace is disturbed by the growing civil unrest in Istanbul. He joins the Keskins in commenting on the news to alleviate his anxiety.

The film industry enters a state of decline due to fears of civil war. This, in turn, elevates Kemal’s industry status and causes him to gain more industry friends, including an actress named Papatya, whom Feridun has taken an interest in. Nevertheless, Kemal feels a sense of crisis over the idea that he has squandered his potential.

Near the end of 1979, White Carnation writes a gossip column about Kemal’s affair with Füsun, his empty promises to launch her acting career, and the end of his engagement with Sibel. Vecihe and the staff at Satsat read the column and are immediately concerned for Kemal. Kemal’s biggest concern, however, is how to hide the column from Füsun when everyone in Istanbul society will likely talk about it for months. He also worries about several inaccuracies in the column’s reporting, which only serve to further sully his reputation. Out of fear of Füsun’s reaction, Kemal does not visit the Keskins that night. He instead retreats to the cinema.

A week later, an oil tanker sailing down the Bosphorus catches fire. Throughout the day, Kemal feels turmoil inside himself. He walks around the film district of Beyoğlu, but takes care to avoid returning to Füsun’s house. He joins the crowds each day of the week to watch the fire until it is extinguished.

After several close encounters with his former social circle, Kemal resolves to reconcile with Füsun’s family. Once he arrives, he immediately recognizes that Füsun has been aggrieved over the gossip column for days. Kemal asks to see Füsun’s paintings once again and initially praises them, but a moment later, he realizes the paintings are nothing special.

To relieve his shame, he steals as many things as he can from the Keskin household. He sees each object as an extension of Füsun, which he can conquer and keep to himself.