The Post recaps the latest odd news from Asia, featuring a phone call and text messaging service for lonely people, an “ugly man” who rents himself to women, and a middle-aged man whose carefree dancing went viral. A Malaysian TikToker who goes by the pseudonym “Embunn” has launched a creative business on the platform to provide solace to the isolated through phone calls and text messages. According to a list of the prices, Embunn offers a “sleep call” service with a range of prices based on the time of the call.
For 5 ringgit (US$1), Embunn will call a client for one hour and 10 ringgit for two to three hours or until the person falls asleep. “Feeling lonely? You have me,” they wrote in the post. Other services include a one-day “unlimited package”, in which the client receives as many messages and calls as they want for 24 hours.
It costs 15 ringgit a day and is intended to show the love and care of a long-distance lover. People can also hire a person from the account to play online games with them for 5 ringgit an hour. One of the price advertisement posts has 75,000 views and 2,300 likes.
A Japanese man has found success running a business he calls “rental busaiku” or “not-so-good-looking guy for rent.” Former comedian Rui Shinohara, 34, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2020 that he started renting himself out to those who wanted to use the services of an “ugly man”. The offerings include having an average-looking guy nearby for m.
