Chapter Text
MEN, DO YOU NEED A FAKE BOYFRIEND?
If yes, I am your man ♥︎
First, let me introduce myself.
Jaehee. 19. ENFP. University student. 180cm+ (height!).
Positive Traits: extroverted, friendly, loyal, hard-working
Negative Traits: sometimes too emotional and sensitive
Hobbies: music, biking, grilling meat
But the trick is that I can be anything you want me to be. Any name. Any age. Any occupation. I can have any positive or negative traits you need me to have. I can become a blank paper on which you write or draw the most perfect boyfriend you can imagine.
If you are a gay or bisexual guy who needs a perfect boyfriend or partner to either introduce him to your friends and family as a help and support in the coming out process, or if you simply need them to shut up and stop nagging about you not having a partner they imagined for you, or if you need a date for an event or a party or anything in between, maybe you even want to make someone jealous? I am the right guy for you!
You can hire me for any task and morph me the way you want, all for $20 per hour! The maximum number of hours you can book in one session is 3 (3 hours for $50 offer available now!).
The positives are that, even though I am open-minded and acquainted with members of LGBTQ+ community, I am straight so there will not be developed feelings to complicate the thing. We can keep it very professional, yet friendly. Therefore, you can hire me even if you already have a partner (with their consent, please).
Included in the price:
Me
My outfit (if you want me to wear things I already own, I will send you some options to choose from)
15 minutes of a meeting beforehand to get to know each other
Bookable extras:
Hugs and holding hands can be booked as extra. Price to be negotiated depending on the job and its goal.
A longer get-to-know-each other meeting can be booked for $10 per hour
Please note that skinship and kissing (or anything more) are not included or bookable.
Also please note that the meeting can be booked only as an extra, meaning only if you already have a Community Boyfriend session booked.
Taking photos of or with me and uploading them on any social media is strictly prohibited.
Complaints for refunds are not possible, however you can leave reviews on the website which, in case I am not dedicated to serving you the best I can, will impact my business. That is my guarantee for good service.
Payments are made during our initial meeting.
Data privacy policy:
Once the booking is over and you are sure you do not have to hire me again, I will delete all of your contact and personal information.
More info on:
CommunityBoyfriend.com/contact
As he sat in front of his screen, Daeyoung hesitated. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, staring at the blinking cursor. The ad he had imagined in his mind felt so much different now that it was in black and white, the one meant to be visible to the world. Well, not exactly different, but seeing the words cramped together made him question if his innovative idea was as solid as he’d thought. But then again, he had nothing to lose. No one would know it was him; he hadn’t used his real name.
With a deep breath, he clicked "post."
Daeyoung wasn’t new to forums, though he had never posted on any LGBTQ+ spaces. He’d browsed, looked up terminology, read personal stories, and even commented a few times. But writing this ad for his sudden entrepreneurial endeavor was the first time he’d ever truly shared something.
Like any business, it couldn’t take off without marketing or promotion. He figured this was the easiest, cheapest and most anonymous way to get the word out.
Being a university student in Seoul wasn’t cheap. While he wasn’t broke, checking his bank balance still gave him a mini panic attack every time. Dorm fees, food, and the occasional drink with friends all added up. Taking shifts at cafes or bakeries was fine, but he felt like he was made for more. He knew there was a whole world out there waiting to be explored.
Despite not being sure how this connected to his desire to explore the world, the idea that came to him while he lay in bed, battling insomnia, felt like a parasite that wouldn’t leave him in peace. He knew it was his call.
The first week after posting on the forum was disappointing for Daeyoung, and that “more” he believed he was made for started to feel uncertain. He waited anxiously for an email, a KakaoTalk message, or even just a sign that someone had visited the website he'd carefully set up.
He prayed for enough to cover the cost of the new phone he’d bought specifically for business purposes, along with the new SIM card. The phone was secondhand and a bargain, but it still felt like an investment.
But almost nothing came. He received only two messages, but neither was the kind of message he had been hoping for. One was an unsolicited photo for someone who seemingly misunderstood this for Grindr, while the other one was a bit more prude but still looking for a flirt rather than genuine help.
Spinning in his chair between checking notifications and skimming through assignments due at midnight, his mind began to wander, pulling him into the hidden alleys he tried to avoid. Yet, every time he came close, he'd manage to turn around just in time, only to be met with a looming banner behind him, asking, “Why on earth did you get yourself into this?”
It all started when Daeyoung met his first openly gay person, a close friend of his ex-girlfriend. He was a sweet, good-looking guy whom Daeyoung hadn’t really paid much attention to until he began sprinkling unexpected compliments here and there, catching Daeyoung off guard. No, he wasn’t hitting on him or making him uncomfortable, but over time, his remarks grew more pointed. At first, it was subtle comments like "Junhee is so lucky, everything must be easier with such a boyfriend." But soon, it turned into something more direct: "If I had a wonderful boyfriend like you, it would be so much easier to come out to my family."
When it was first said, in the dim light of a karaoke room as Daeyoung sank onto the bench after a heartfelt performance, he didn’t react much. He just chuckled and focused on Junhee, who was busy picking a song for her turn. But as they walked home, in the quiet of the night and the coolness of the fresh air, the words kept repeating in his mind, over and over. He tried to push them away, but the thought was too loud to ignore, too persistent to let him sleep. At 4 AM, after tossing and turning, he finally grabbed his phone. With a deep breath, he sent a message, the first one they’d ever exchanged outside their usual group chat.
“Hey, can you please explain what did you mean when you said that earlier? I mean, it was a huge compliment, I just… am not sure what did it mean exactly.”
They met for coffee that same morning, and to Daeyoung’s surprise, his friend didn’t hesitate to elaborate on his unexpected statement. It started with, "Well, I’d just feel safe and comfortable with you, like nothing else would matter," and ended with, "I just think you’re so likable that even the most conservative parents would be happy to accept you as a son-in-law."
That had been two years ago. Though his story with Junhee had ended soon after they turned 18, those words lingered, always in the back of his mind, playing a quiet melody. It was a tune that, without fail, would make his lips curl into a smile, one that felt both proud and steady, a reminder of something he couldn't quite shake.
If there was one thing about Daeyoung, it was that he was a people-pleaser. He found joy in making others feel safe, happy, and cared for. The fact that he did it almost effortlessly, without even trying, meant the world to him.
It was perhaps just a lucky coincidence when, one day, a completely new person told him something eerily similar. A classmate he had noticed on the first day of university, but hadn’t talked to much until they ended up on a group project together. Little by little, they grew closer. Even after the project was successfully wrapped, he was the only person Daeyoung stayed in touch with. Maybe they had initially bonded over gossiping about the laziness and sloppiness of their other groupmates, but soon enough, an undeniable connection formed. Platonic, but real.
And little by little, Daeyoung became the first person on campus his friend came out to. It happened naturally, almost seamlessly, as they sat at their usual corner table in the campus canteen, people-watching and commenting on everyone who walked by. It didn’t catch Daeyoung off guard; in fact, he felt strangely accomplished, a quiet pride swelling in him. Someone trusted him enough to share this part of themselves, to say it out loud, and in doing so, made him feel like he had created a space where they felt safe.
This was someone who had never heard of Junhee, or her gay best friend, or any of the details of Daeyoung’s past. Aside from their newly formed friendship, he was practically a stranger, knowing little about Daeyoung beyond his student life. Yet, it was this person who repeated the very words Daeyoung had heard before, but this time it happened as he was sitting at their already reserved, shaky table in the canteen, counting the last few coins in his wallet.
“I have 100 problems, and having a boyfriend like you would solve 99 of them.”
And that was when the idea sparked in his mind.
He could help the community, and at the same time, help himself avoid starving to death. As he walked back to his dorm that evening, his stomach aching for a full, warm meal, but his wallet only allowing him a pack of instant ramen, it seemed like a win-win situation.
But for some reason, reaching clients proved to be so much harder than he’d expected. He understood that they were probably cautious, anxious that it was nothing more than a setup. He knew there was at least one gay student out there, nervously reading through the website, fearing that he might either get beaten up or filmed for a prank video.
After a few days, despite still not having any concrete bookings, just a few more messages he had chosen to ignore, at least comments started appearing under his forum entry.
[+5, -1] What if you’re ugly, do we get a refund?
↳ [+0, -1] So what if he is ugly?
↳ [+2, -1] Girl, how will an ugly guy make my ex jealous? My ex was an idol trainee, there are some standards over here
↳ [+0, -1] So he was a trainee but didn’t debut, maybe your ex is ugly too
[+4, -0] This looks like a set up… this is either someone who will out us or just wants sex while saying “no homo”
[+1, -1] I sent him a message and he ghosted me! This is a scam…
↳ [+0, -5] Hi, Jaehee here. I’m sorry, I forgot to mention that I will ignore dick pics.
↳ [+1, -0] Community Boyfriend doing nothing for the community?
↳ [+0, -1] Your dick is not a community
But Daeyoung also knew that, sooner or later, it would take off.
And it did. All it took was for him to leave a small piece of paper with the website name on bulletin boards around campus, and in a couple of LGBT-friendly cafes and pubs that he’d been tipped off about.
[+9, -0] This is such a refreshing idea, I wish I had something like that when I was a closeted, confused university student ㅠㅠ
[+7, -1] Hwaiting Jaehee! You seem like such a sweet guy, thank you! I will reach out to you soon.
[+7, -3] Can you help me avoid enlistment? ㅠㅠ
[+5, -1] F*ck I already fell in love just by reading the post
More and positive comments started appearing under his post, and in addition to them, he overheard a conversation at the table next to him as he typed his essay in the canteen. A group of students were whispering about the mysterious "Community Boyfriend," gossiping about its legitimacy and nudging one of them to give it a shot.
By the second week, his phone finally started ringing with notifications, a sound he had been waiting for, the first signs of his efforts paying off.
The first two bookings were brief and simple. His job was the easy but fun one: just make ex-boyfriends jealous. He didn’t really have to do much, they were jealous by default yet impossible to crack. Two different people, two different exes, but the experiences were nearly identical. The first one even booked a hug, and by the end, Daeyoung felt too bad to charge for it. It felt so natural, so sweet, like an act of kindness between strangers.
He could feel the desperate squeeze of his client’s arms around him and the little whimper that escaped his lips as he finally accepted that his ex was just that – an ex. Someone he had to move on from. It was something Daeyoung couldn’t bring himself to put a price on.
“You’ll find someone better, someone who deserves you,” he said before their goodbyes.
He had hoped that this venture would be exciting and unpredictable, but soon he began to worry it might just turn into the same routine over and over. A couple of short dates here and there in gay bars or clubs, where he would essentially be paraded around to catch the attention of that one person who would already be making out with someone. But hey, at least he’d get a few drinks. Not just from the clients, but a couple would be sent over by mysterious strangers he’d later have to avoid while making his escape. Surprisingly, those moments, awkward as they were, turned out to be the most exciting parts of his bookings.
“You’d get laid so much if you were gay,” his second client observed, eyeing the five glasses still full of drinks already lined up before Daeyoung, not even halfway through their booking, “what a shame…”
Daeyoung laughed at the remark, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that he was never hit on this much in… “normal” clubs. Maybe the gay scene was all about hookups, after all, and maybe it was just easier by default.
During the second booking, Daeyoung had much more fun. Maybe it was the fact he already felt kinda accustomed to the atmosphere, but maybe it was because the storyline was less tragic, and the guy wasn’t as desperate for his ex as he was just looking for revenge. Still, Daeyoung figured that his client’s response to seeing his ex making out on the dance floor being making out with two of his own suitors was far more productive than simply making him stand by the bar.
Later, all three of them convinced Daeyoung that if it hadn’t been for him, and the fact that the guys needed some comfort after being turned down, maybe it wouldn’t have even happened.
Actually, he wasn’t really convinced, considering it just felt like a waste of the client’s money. But who was he to judge other adults’ life decisions? His own decision to go to gay clubs, where he could be seen by someone, was the first one that needed to be questioned.
On one hand, he used an alter ego to maintain anonymity. On the other, his business was all about going on public dates with guys, most of whom were probably not even closeted, at least judging by the first two. But somehow, he still saw it as a clear separation between his professional self, Jaehee, and his real self, Daeyoung.
“So, you’re the infamous Community Boyfriend?” A guy slid next to him, leaning against the bar.
“You figured?” Daeyoung blushed. Not because he was busted, though being caught might hurt his business in the long run, but because of the way he felt the guy’s eyes scanning him, top to bottom. He could have guessed that the flushed look on the guy’s face was that he had just finished making out with his client on the overcrowded dance floor, but still it did not help him rationalize the glances he was given.
“So you’re not ugly at all.”
“Huh?” Daeyoung took a sip from one of the drinks that had been bought for him.
“That comment that asked what if you were ugly? You’re... hot.”
“Thanks…” Daeyoung stuttered, unsure how to respond. “You too.”
The guy laughed at the awkwardness, as expected. Judging by the way he carried himself, Daeyoung was pretty sure he was used to compliments like that.
“Look, I’ll help you out,” the guy said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and angling the screen just so Daeyoung could see what he was doing. He unlocked his phone, opened Naver, logged out of one account, and logged into another. He found the Community Boyfriend post and started typing, spelling each word aloud as he did:
“Guys, I’ve just met Community Boyfriend. He is so f*cking hot. He just helped this one guy make his ex go absolutely feral at a club ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Book him before it’s too late!”
Daeyoung let out a sound that was supposed to be a giggle, but it came out awkwardly, more like a whine.
"Thanks," he swallowed, cold sweat appearing on his forehead despite the hot air of the overcrowded, loud space. The mixture of sweat and perfume lingered in the atmosphere, only adding to the sense of suffocation, "You didn’t have to."
“I didn’t, but I wanted to,” the guy grinned, swiping one of the glasses lined up for Daeyoung and downing it in one go. “I might need your help too one day. As a payback, I hope you’ll squeeze me into your busy schedule in a few weeks.”
“I will, for sure. But how will I know it’s you when I get the application?”
“Well, just remember my name, cutie.”
“And that is?”
“Sion.”
Just as he started accepting that maybe his business would just be this – being paraded in gay clubs before his clients abandoned him for someone else, leaving him in the claws of others, struggling to politely turn down attractive suitors as he left the club, then walking home tipsy, stumbling over his own feet and giggling at the flashbacks—his business notification ringtone snapped him back to reality.
At 2 AM, on a Saturday night, the third client reached out to him via Kakaotalk message.
“Hi, I’m Yushi, I’m interested in your services. You might be sleeping now so I hope this message won’t bother you, but I felt like if I don’t do something now, I never will. Please contact me back when you can.”
“Hi, Yushi, I’m Jaehee. I am happy to help you, just let me know what is it about?”
“I want to come out to my parents.”
And that’s when things started to change. That’s when it started to feel different, when it began to shape into something more like what Daeyoung had originally imagined.
