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The novel flashes back to when Minjun learns that he has been admitted to university. Minjun’s parents assure him that life will turn out well, comparing university to the first button in a button-up shirt. Despite his best efforts to live by a meticulous four-year plan, Minjun struggles to find a job after graduation. He becomes disillusioned with the buttonhole metaphor his parents used, drunkenly lamenting to his friend Sungchul that society has betrayed him after all his hard work.

Sungchul tries to reassure Minjun that university wasn’t all that bad, which Minjun will not believe. They end up laughing over the absurdity of life, and both of them wish for the opportunities to prove otherwise. After that night, Minjun and Sungchul fall out of touch. Minjun worries that Sungchul might have found a job and is guilty about admitting it to Minjun. Minjun distracts himself by focusing on his job hunt.

Two years after graduation, Minjun gets into a final round of interviews but is rejected by the company over text message. Instead of disappointment, he tells himself that it was his last chance to get a job and feels relieved. He lies to his mother that he will start tutoring to make money, but in truth he no longer has the energy to look for a job.