I don't have the guts to break up with my girlfriend

After returning from Japan, he decides he should break up, feeling neither physical nor emotional attraction and little shared interest. She expects marriage, a baby, and his July return; guilt makes him hope she ends things first. He prefers his stress-free £8-per-hour job, savings, gaming, videos, and drawing, seeing Japan’s summer and rural location as burdens.

Idealised romance again gives way to boredom, avoidance, and delayed confrontation after intimacy.