What’s the best way to tell a man I’ve been seeing for about a year that I want to distance myself from him? He’s quite attached, and it’s starting to scare me, so I want to end things.

I’m Date◎Yume, a male member. That was a wonderful answer from the “Papa-katsu Gentleman.” Date◎Yume completely agrees too—“Yep.”（笑）

I’m Flag Maker, a column writer. I’ve thought of various ways to end things smoothly, but it’s not easy. One possibility is to frame it not as a “breakup,” but as “putting the relationship on hold for the time being.” You could give a reason such as a long trip, a short-term study-abroad program, a family bereavement, or work-related circumstances. You could make them think you’ll be out of touch for a while, then gradually become unreachable for good, leaving the cause a mystery. Alternatively, after some time, you could say that because of complications related to one of the excuses above, “it seems difficult to continue the relationship.” Either way, I hope you can end things without placing too much emotional strain on the person asking the question.

This is Saito, the columnist♪ I think it’s fine to simply say that you’ve gotten a boyfriend. After that, block him everywhere without exception. I don’t even mark his LINE messages as read. If I feel scared or receive anything even remotely threatening, I consult the police. I think that’s the best approach.

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. When a man is particularly fixated, I feel that things can become difficult regardless of the reason you give. But saying that you’ve gotten a boyfriend or that your parents found out seems like a fairly safe excuse. Another option might be to make a huge demand for a higher allowance—say, three times the current amount. For example, if you’re receiving 8 per meeting, ask for 24 per meeting. That might discourage him from becoming so attached. I don’t think he would normally agree, so you should be fine. But even if he did agree, if it were three times as much, I think it would be enough to convince yourself to continue seeing him. And if he feels that strongly about you, it would be quite flattering, so perhaps you could continue the relationship a little longer. Even if he says he happened to pass by somewhere near your home, I think the basic reason is probably that he likes you. Ideally, you’d be able to tell him how uncomfortable that kind of behavior makes you feel, but that may be difficult.