Sumire is going to have her hair styled in the traditional maiko bun for the first time. She will start using a special pillow to protect her hairstyle while she sleeps, like the other maiko and senior apprentices with buns. The senior maiko warn her she won't be able to sleep the first night, and Sumire struggles to rest her head on the unfamiliar pillow. She finally gives up on sleep and goes to the kitchen, where she unexpectedly finds Kiyo waiting up for her.

January 7 is the first workday of the new year in Kagai. The Maiko House girls are rushing about, preparing for the beginning of work. Sumire has her hair put up, gives Mother a personal New Year's greeting, and gets dressed in a formal black crested kimono worn on celebratory occasions. In the kitchen, Kiyo prepares a special breakfast for this important day, but the maiko must take particular care when eating it.

Mother brings home some premium beef. Kiyo immediately starts thinking about what she can make with it, but the maiko who have returned home are realizing that the house is unusually cold. None of the heating appliances could be turned on due to a blackout. As the maiko sit shivering in the cold, what better than Kiyo appearing in front of them with a steaming hot pot.

It is customary for Geiko to dress up in costumes for the Setsubun festival in Kagai. The House maiko are up late, helping make the props and costumes. The girls are sleep-deprived, and they start to come apart in the room where they've been working together, as the night wears on. Can Sumire find something in the kitchen to help calm everyone down?

Sumire dines out at a high-end restaurant along with Momoko and a regular customer but cannot make any sense of the menu. Sumire ends up having the same meal as Momoko but is left wondering what she actually ate. The next morning, she goes to Kiyo in the house kitchen and makes a request for the dish she had wanted to eat.

The maiko spot garlic in the kitchen and it causes quite a stir among them. As entertainers, maiko typically refrain from eating anything that smells too strongly and can only enjoy having such foods when they have the next day off. The garlic is for Sumire's gyoza dumplings. She is looking forward to them so much that she blurts out some puzzling words while she entertains customers the night before her day off.