Sounds like yami baito, but it turns out it’s an otome game job.

Recently, there’s been a lot of talk in Japan about yami baito, or “dark part-time jobs.” The general scenario goes something like this: a help-wanted posting appears, usually online, for some sort of part-time job that offers high pay for easy work. Once an applicant contacts the employer for more information about the tantalizing offer, they get roped into helping with something illegal such as theft or fraud, often being set up to take the fall instead of the organizer if they get caught.

So a help-wanted ad for a part-time job where you get paid just to chat online with young women might sound like it should immediately set off yami baito alarms. It being a full-remote job with flexible work hours only adds to the sense that the deal is too good to be true, or at least too good to be legal, right?

But it appears that this is a legitimate, lawful gig, as it’s being listed through En-gage, a reputable job-hunting website. So why is Ace, the company offering the position, willing to pay you to chat with girls? Because they’re running an otome game, a dating simulator for women, and they want someone to write responses to the in-game messages players can send to their virtual would-be boyfriends.

The wanted ad describes the job as:

“Applicant will take on the role of characters in the chat-style otome game app that our company is running, creating and sending responses to messages from players.”

As for workflow, the “response staff member” will start their shift by logging into the game’s administrative system and checking for unanswered messages from players. After choosing one to respond to, the response staff member will review the recent chat log between the player and character and craft an appropriate response, keeping in mind the character’s personality and style of expression, then send the reply and move on to the next unanswered message.

▼ It’s actually nice to know that Ace cares enough to provide players with personally crafted messages, not just pre-canned responses or janky AI ones.

No special required skills other than typing are specified, though presumably viable candidates will also need a certain degree of eloquence in written Japanese. Hourly pay ranges from 1,150 to 2,100 yen (US$7.65 to US$14), though it’s unclear if that’s dependent on the quantity or quality of messages sent. Ace says they’re looking to hire at least 10 response staff members, and aspiring honey drippers can apply through the En-gage website here.

Source: En-gage via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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