𝙂𝙊𝘿'𝙎 𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙐

[hehosts]

low activity, highly selective, and very private retelling of my long-standing original lore -> a return of #HEHOSTS

originally established may 2020, temp closed for 2025, now revamped july 2025. beloved by x, he/him, 30+. MDNI. no personals.

find me at goodmeeting / filiuscanis / prfumer

rules and information are in my doc, which is linked above!!

main character: hatanaka "ren" yori, #1 host and manager of the host club shining!

primary antagonist: that man -> currently known as watanabe goro

left hand of goro: ji-hun, the cobra

right hand of goro: deng, the hyena

who are goro, ji-hun, and deng?

[hehosts]

i need to know what ren writes in his little black book about people, he takes a it of notes on individuals he sees at the club 📝

[weltenwellen]

Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness

[hehosts]

WHAT ARE REN’S MONTHLY EXPENSES?

the basics include rent, food, clothes, repairs, utilities including cable / internet / cellphone service. he pays for four, eventually five, cell phones — two are for him (work and personal), the third is for his mother, the fourth is hina’s, and the fifth will be kyosuke’s. bus and train passes are bought in monthly increments which saves him money.

ren is very frugal, and shops cheap in all areas he can afford to do so.

his mother: physical therapy is not free, though many services in the health industry are as there is universal healthcare in japan, so there are a lot of expenses that ren could have in america that he luckily does not have to have in japan. this does not mean there are no costs, just less than what would be anticipated as someone from the united states might.

kyosuke’s expenses: food, toys, travel between his home and hina’s, in-home childcare eventual expenses for school such as uniforms, money for lunch, afterschool activities and trips, going to the arcade, going out with friends, etc.

hina’s expenses: whenever hina needs money, she asks ren. her phone, clothes, bills, whatever she can’t or just won’t pay for herself is in ren’s monthly budget.

work expenses: being a profitable host isn’t cheap, and in some cases neither is being a desirable escort, and eventually these costs transfer over to being a rental boyfriend, too. clothes, makeup, manicures, hair cuts and colors, waxing, colognes, travel … the overall upkeep that goes into relying on one’s appearance for their job is what is in ren’s wheelhouse of necessary evils.

a mixture of these expenses, including getting him off the ground to being a ‘desirable host’, are what got him into debt with goro. when escorting, doing a few amateur films, and hosting wasn’t supplying, goro was (and still is) funding. this is partially good, though mostly bad for ren. good in that he could get the consistent funds to supply the lifestyle he has now, even if it’s just barely breaking even some months, but also has him indebted to goro. i’ve mentioned his debt is well around, if not over, 100k USD. without goro, ren might not have lasted as long as a host, and would have gone further down the escorting rabbit hole than he already is, and he’s in pretty deep.

his monthly expenses are roughly well into the 5-6k range, which is a lot for a single parent / single son.

“ prices will vary depending on where you want to live. tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world. … most landlords won’t even rent to you unless you can prove you make three times the cost of rent per month. prices drop once apartments get more than ten minutes away from a station.”

his location in tokyo is what saves him a bit of rent expenses, but he has to make up for those costs in travel, which really aren’t that bad. he doesn’t have a car, but he can drive. ren lives in the red-light district and works heavily in the heart of it (kabukicho).

[hehosts]

REN AND TRAUMA:

ren has a thin scar on his left wrist from a drunken and sloppy attempt to hurt himself. hina found him, pulled him out of the tub, and got him to the ER. blaming the event as a drinking accident taken too far, ren managed to get out of the hospital, and refused to speak about it ever again. hina will bring it up occasionally, though ren insists he doesn’t remember anything other than waking up in the hospital. his mother doesn’t talk about it.

ren was 21, hina was 19.

it honestly boils down to a lack of respect for himself as well as little self-value and worth. ren feels his life is not worth living, thus he is worthless. worth stems from being “useful” and he sees himself as an object for the pleasure of other people. when he’s not working, the only real fulfillment that’s positive that he gets is being a father, which is his favorite thing bar none.

before kyosuke, and even after, ren has always struggled with caring for his own life and wellbeing. he purposefully seeks out things that will hurt him, and subsequently, people that will hurt him. he was more put together in high school, and being a sex worker definitely changed him, exacerbating the qualities he was already prone to.

because of trauma in his early life, mostly because of his identity (he does not know his father, for example, and does not know his heritage outside of his mother), ren is obsessed with keeping kyosuke safe and is ultimately overprotective to a fault. this is a projection of ren’s fear of the world despite his own ability to muster up the courage and get out there. he drinks to alleviate internal pain, but also to keep his body going.

while ren will (now) avoid returning to clients that are too rough with him, which admittedly have been a few, he will let clients be aggressive with him. 

there are instances where he outright blocked numbers, along with a few particularly nasty encounters under his belt. 

despite this, ren will still seek out strangers, which is ‌a huge risk. most of his clientele comes from the club (customers) and connections through those affiliations (friends or associates of customers, usually).

he’s been hit, burned, strangled and choked out, thrown around, etc. it’s all part of the job, and he’s come home just completely wrecked. he lies constantly, so is never “real” with anyone, and he continues toxic relationships, affairs, and any other relationships he can to fill the void and desperation of not wanting to be alone.

he generally hides his scar with concealer, but it can sweat off during work. he just hopes people won't notice, since he's predominantly among intoxicated company, and can keep it covered at home.

[hehosts]

idk i just like the guy

[theoptia]

C.G. Jung, from The Red Book: Liber Novus

Text ID: My soul is my supreme meaning, my image of God,

[hehosts]

in ren’s post verse, he opens his own hostess bar (goro returns!) called the red rose. he could have opened a host club, but he wanted to open a place where women could work safely. ren has always had a strong reverence for his mother and for hina, and has spent many nights entertaining and consoling women. 

he is the owner, but he employs a female manager — hina. if anyone is going to keep an eye out, it’s her. their relationship has improved by this time, allowing at least a professional space to exist between them. the bar has strict policies, specifically to touching and hostess autonomy. ren is not afraid to blacklist someone. 

goro is like an investor that’s finally making profit. becoming partners with goro — “partners” — allowed him to settle more of his debt. he still has his vices ... but is more in control of his life. in addition, he plays piano almost nightly at the red rose, and is currently looking for hostesses.

[hehosts]

anyway not me thinking about the rabbit symbolism of the hosts and also that woman is kyoko (ren’s mom) and the snake symbolism of ji-hun

[hehosts]

i feel like a useless encyclopedia of host/hostess club knowledge tbh i looked so much into it it’s just stuck in there now

[hehosts]

ren and hina as hosts and hostesses respectively while raising a son is something else huh

[kiisuuumii]

Kathryn Smith, "Meditation Among the Fragments," Self-Portrait with Cephalopod

[hehosts]

some hina headcanon stuff // * the mother of kyosuke:

hina had work done after she gave birth to kyosuke, which is also not uncommon for hostesses‌. she never pursued it with much serious interest before becoming a mother. it’s not something she’s ashamed of, feeling justified and confident in her reasons for doing so, but it’s not something she also actively advertises since that’s pretty personal to her.

she had kyosuke by c-section, but her scar is quite light by the time we meet her in canon (25yr). she actively worked to get her body as quickly back into shape as possible so she could get back to work sooner than later. there wasn’t much maternity leave. hina was incredibly worried that her spot would be replaced and she would have to work her way back up again, if she would even be let back at all.

the above factors are also reasons she is bitter to ren. she blames him for ruining her body, not having any physical consequences, and not having his job threatened. while ren was the only man that hina ever trusted, she couldn’t help but feel that resentment grow. hina was only 20 when she had kyosuke; she was very young, very inexperienced, and had been in a bad situation after bad situation before getting involved with ren.

in reality, hina is still young — but she’s coming around a lot more; becoming herself again. a lot of this hard exterior is from weathering harsh storms, and for all her faults, she’s a fiercely protective mother. she looks out for kyosuke, but she relies on ren to take care of him and provide. she loves kyosuke, she just doesn’t always know how to show it.

hina is (technically) ren’s ex-wife.

ren and hina were legally married briefly, less than a year, but it’s something neither of them talk about, and essentially pretend never happened. they tried just after she gave birth to tie the knot in hopes that it would make things more legitimate. it was a miserable marriage, more miserable than their relationship as a whole. it was a crushing blow for ren to be technically divorced, even though they continued their relationship on and off after. he never wore his ring to work, so their marriage was pretty lowkey and more revealed to anyone in their personal life over their professional life. being married in their industry is not a draw, the illusion of being single is necessary. that and ren was never not a working man when he was with hina. he still has his ring. she sold hers or she says she did.

their divorce falls under this category:

japanese law allows for divorce either through the family court system or through a simple registration procedure at the ward office. known in japanese as “mutual consent divorce” (kyogi rikon), this ward office procedure can be faster and less expensive than going through the family court.

while in theory hina seems the type to take ren for everything (and she would), he still technically provides for her and their son, so bleeding him dry now ensures he isn’t useful later. it isn’t like they were ever really over, just in the legal sense. too many strings attached to ren overwhelms hina, he is smothering to her, but when she wants his attention, she will get it. they don’t have to be married for that, and divorcing before kyosuke was really cognizant was for the best. 

hina was also suffering heavily at this point from postpartum depression, they were unstable, living in a very small apartment with three adults, one of which is needing constant care, as well as a new baby, and the occasional caretaker that ren could afford, which was also inconsistent. a lot of moving parts without anywhere to land and build.

minor headcanons:

the english hina knows was actually taught to her by ren. she didn’t finish high school because of circumstances, but she’s very clever, smart, and quick on her feet.

ren is the only one that calls hina ‘fusae’ which is her birth-name (ota fusae). admittedly, they’re a bit fast and loose with what they call each other. hina first knew ren under his alias ‘umi’, and was with him before he got the moniker ren. she has always had the name hina as her alias, one she got shortly after getting into hosting. before hosting, she went under various fake names, but nothing substantial enough to stick for long. it was more to keep her identity safe as she began working in the ‘water trade’ at 15, but didn’t start hosting until 17.

[weltenwellen]

Alex Dimitrov, from "Waiting at Stonewall", Love and Other Poems

[hehosts]

[hehosts]

in ren’s post verse, he opens his own hostess bar (goro returns!) called the red rose. he could have opened a host club, but he wanted to open a place where women could work safely. ren has always had a strong reverence for his mother and for hina, and has spent many nights entertaining and consoling women. 

he is the owner, but he employs a female manager — hina. if anyone is going to keep an eye out, it’s her. their relationship has improved by this time, allowing at least a professional space to exist between them. the bar has strict policies, specifically to touching and hostess autonomy. ren is not afraid to blacklist someone. 

goro is like an investor that’s finally making profit. becoming partners with goro — “partners” — allowed him to settle more of his debt. he still has his vices ... but is more in control of his life. in addition, he plays piano almost nightly at the red rose, and is currently looking for hostesses.

[hehosts]

Hostess clubs have a strict "no touching" policy, and patrons are removed who try to initiate private or sexual conversation.[4][5][6][7] However a red-light district version of the host/hostess club exists, called seku-kyabakura or ichya-kyabakura, where patrons are permitted to touch their host/hostess above the waist and engage in sexual conversation topics or kissing, although this type of establishment is not common.[4][7][8][9] 

Normal hostess clubs are classified as food and entertainment establishments and regulated by the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act, prohibiting any form of sexual contact between employees and customers. Normal hostess clubs also need a permit to allow dancing.[10] 

Clubs are often inspected by the Public Safety Commission. Any club found violating its permitted activities can have its business license suspended until corrections are made.[11] 

shining! falls somewhere a bit in the middle as there is some touching allowed above the waist that is inherent to ‘flirting’, but there is no direct kissing or discussion of many sexual topics. 

ren is in charge of making sure that shining! is up to protocol, as this is one of his primary duties in managing the club.  

Male hosts pour drinks and will often flirt with their clients, more so than their female counterparts. The conversations are generally light-hearted; hosts may have a variety of entertainment skills, be it simple magic tricks or charisma with which to tell a story.

Hosts' ages usually range between 18 and the mid-20s. They will take a stage name, usually taken from a favourite manga, film, or historical figure, that will often describe their character. Men who become hosts are often those who either cannot find a white-collar job, or are enticed by the prospect of high earnings through commission.[20]

Pay is usually determined by commission on drink sales with hosts often drinking far past a healthy limit, usually while trying to hide their drunkenness. Because the base hourly wage is usually extremely low, almost any man can become a host regardless of looks or charisma (depending on the bar).[citation needed]However, hosts who cannot increase their sales usually drop out very soon, because of the minimal wage. The environment in a host bar is usually very competitive, with tens of thousands of dollars sometimes offered to the host who can achieve the highest sales. 

ren has been doing this a long time, so it’s not as if he’s made no money from the industry, and he does well enough to keep pursuing it. there is a downside as this is a looks-based career, however, and with the expenses of that combined with his own personal expenses and bills, this doesn’t leave a lot of room to stretch money. he wasn’t making a lot in the beginning, which is where escorting came in, but he did become marketable as he continued. with managing, he has to take a ‘hands-on’ approach by being on the floor, but he’s made it work to his advantage, and he’s able to see everything for himself (for the most part) over watching a camera. 

he does rely on his #2 and #3 hosts, respectively, to take on small (and occasionally large) tasks as any assistant manager or shift lead type role would, so while he is the manager and #1 host, he is not necessarily just running it all alone. it’s a combined effort, and his hosts do have a respect for ren / look up to him as he mostly hired them all himself, and has his attachments to them in different ways (primarily familial). also goro is at the top, so anything really important is being handled behind the scenes. from ren down, it’s a cog / machine situation.

as ren is a more honorable man than most in his current ‘community’, despite his questionable decision-making, he does try to ensure a fair wage, though there is some variety in pay based on status, length of service, popularity, commission rates, etc. his lowest paying hosts will ‌at least make a living, but typically those roles aren’t ‌committed to as there’s a quick turnover rate; in / out. ** also i’ll just note that most anything that’s based in legitimacy isn’t specified to shining! that’s about hosting, hosts, and hostesses in the realms of how the industry works or the legalities, etc is typically also applicable to hina, though i won’t be tagging her every single time i make a post about the industry unless i’m specifying to her or the white lotus. **