This is just a simple question, but if a married man and his wife are about the same age—say, within a three-year difference—and he has a short- or long-term arrangement at a club with a woman nearly half his age, doesn’t he ever feel that she’s less appealing than his wife because she seems immature or lacking in knowledge and depth of conversation?

I’m Meg, a female member. Isn’t that exactly what makes us appealing—that we’re different from their wives? I do get compared to their wives sometimes. Since I’m someone’s wife too, it doesn’t exactly make me feel good, though... They tell me, “You’re so calm and lovely,” which means they’ve been completely fooled. I’m thinking, “No way, that’s not true”—I’m a total ogre at home and a very strict mom to my kids. Still, even if it’s only for a little while, I want to let them dream while we’re together. Paper Airplane, Since yesterday, I’ve been feeling the same way as you, my dear, though for a different reason. I’ve been crying myself to sleep... It hurts to wonder when we’ll finally be able to see each other again... (crying) The truth is, I’m actually quite a crybaby.

I’m Flag Maker, a columnist. Lately, I’ve come to feel that young people have unique values and emotions that only exist in their youth—precious things that gradually fade as they grow older. That’s why I think you’re attractive just as you are. :)

I’m だて◎ゆめ, a male member. My thoughts are more or less the average of what 紙ひこうきさん and ＢＢ７さん said. What I’m looking for and what I feel are different, so my wife and I are two completely different people（笑） But when it comes to how I feel about myself, I’m just like マックさん—I’ll always be 20.

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. I don’t think many people compare someone with their wife. They probably see them as separate things. Perhaps they’re simply different worlds. That said, I do think some people compare women based purely on age, rather than comparing them with their wife. People who place importance on the experience that comes with age and consideration for their partner often say they don’t want to offer arrangements to very young women. Even so, I think they generally prefer women who are younger than themselves, and quite a few say they prefer women around 30. I think it depends on what they’re looking for. Of course, there are also people who simply like younger women. Each age group has its own appeal, so I don’t think it makes sense to judge someone’s attractiveness based on just one aspect. What people find appealing varies from person to person. So I don’t think you need to worry too much about that. Besides, even people who are young now will find that ten years passes in the blink of an eye. I think it’s better to focus on whether you’ll have developed ten years’ worth of qualities by then.

I’m a BB7 male member. Rather than comparing them to my wife, I sometimes honestly feel that, compared with women my own age, they’re still kind of kids, and that their conversations can leave me wanting more. That said, intelligence comes in many forms. I can also find their different sensibilities, perspectives, and ways of thinking stimulating, so it’s not as though I always feel dissatisfied. In the end, though, I think it comes down more to the individual than to age. Even among women my own age, I’d rather pass on anyone who only talks about things like cheap meat at the local supermarket or what happened to the mother of some classmate named so-and-so—basically nothing but gossip or badmouthing others. Fortunately, my wife is the complete opposite. The same goes for women at the club. I find it boring when all they have to talk about is complaining about their workplace or friends, or rambling about celebrities and idols I’ve never heard of.

I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. That sense of being a little lacking and immature is precisely what makes her so incredibly appealing! Nothing beats that youthful freshness. You can’t turn back time, so I can’t help being drawn to that fresh charm. Among the women I’ve met through the club, there has only been one with whom I lost track of time talking extensively about work. She’s still young, but she’s highly active in a global career, so our energy and wavelengths matched, and we could understand each other’s work-related experiences. She’s so busy that even someone as free as me can rarely meet her, but I don’t think women like her are very common. With someone like that, I can talk about all sorts of things, even complain extensively about work, but it’s not that I particularly seek out that kind of person. I don’t think there are many men who do. In my case, the women are about 20 to 30 years younger than my wife, so what I’m looking for is completely different from what I share with my wife or my long-term girlfriends. The kind of innocence where they laugh at the slightest thing is the greatest form of rest for me. It heals me and gives me renewed energy and vitality. P.S. The tuna that sells for hundreds of millions of yen at the New Year’s auction commands such a price because it’s the first auction of the year. It may be harsh, but the club is the same: the highest prices go to women in their first month or two after joining, or those in their early twenties. Don’t miss your chance to get one. P.P.S. My daughter has been crying terribly… Worried, I asked her why, and apparently she’s sad that school is going to be closed… She’s apparently devastated that she can’t see her friends… P.P.P.S. She had also been looking forward to a trip to Disneyland as a reward after her entrance exams, but unfortunately, we had to cancel it… (;_;)