The Unchanging Beast: Mastering Lucid Dream Usage
People don't change. No matter if you meet a succubus, become human yourself, or when the recovery team storms in—ultimately, a person lives according to instinct. And my instinct was crystal clear.
“……Hah.” I stared at the ceiling and exhaled a long sigh. Reality. Back to reality. That scene from last night's Succubus Company recovery team yanking back the curtain, Subin’s lips buried in my shoulder, her breathing stifled, that voice right in my face saying “Here he is.” That was all… just a dream.
“……Ah.” The moment I snapped back to reality, the first feeling that hit me wasn’t fear, wasn’t relief. It was simply, “Ah, damn. It’s really reality.” The ceiling still had that sickly yellow fluorescent bulb flickering, the room was still a one-room apartment, and my life was still that of a jobless NEET. The seat beside me was empty. Subin was gone, the succubus was gone, the recovery team was gone—pure, unfiltered reality.
“…Oh, right.” I pushed myself up from the bed and scratched my head. “Time to dive back into the dream.” Is this normal human thinking? No. But I’d already passed chapter 11 as a human. My default setting had long since spiraled out of orbit.
***
Anyway, first thing—I fired up the computer. I cranked up Naver, Google, YouTube, everything. The search bar only had one thing typed in.
[How to keep lucid dreaming]
[Tips for maintaining lucid dreams]
[How to manipulate the dream world at will]
[Controlling female characters freely in dreams]
“…This last one is a bit too blatant, huh.” Still, I didn’t delete it. Searching was free anyway.
The results were predictably a total mess.
“Write a dream diary the second you wake up.”
“Create a reality-check routine.”
“Count your fingers.”
“…This is even lamer than the Succubus Company.”
Still, I was dead serious. In my current life, the only thing I could truly control was the dream. Reality? No degree, no portfolio, no experience, zero bank balance. Dreams? Former succubus client. Lucid dream veteran. At least I could set the board.
This was basically the edge of being a scam character.
***
Mom had been glued to the TV with the remote since morning, watching drama.
“You’re not going out today either, are you?”
“Yeah. Got important plans.”
“What plans?”
I answered seriously.
“Lucid dream commute.”
“……Did you start drinking in the morning again?”
“No. My consciousness is actually sharper. That’s the problem.”
Mom sighed. “Once that whole thing passes, you’ll have to get a real job, you know.”
“Mom.”
“Yeah?”
“Right now, the dreams pay way more than reality.”
“……Get out.”
***
I went back to my room, pulled the curtains all the way shut, killed the lights, and switched my phone to airplane mode. Earbuds in, I blasted the YouTube video titled “Lucid Dream Induction Sound.”
[From now on, relax your consciousness…]
[You are ready to dream…]
“Yeah, yeah… you didn’t hit your KPI either, huh.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. Then I thought: ‘This time I won’t just take it lying down.’ ‘This time the board is mine.’
***
The feeling of sinking downward was unmistakable. The noise of reality faded one by one, my body grew distant, and only my consciousness floated free. Then—familiar sensation. It was the dream. The second I knew, I lifted my hand and started counting fingers. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
“…Six?”
There was an extra finger. “Perfect.” Full lucid dream entry. This time it was different. This time I wasn’t going to be taken.
This time I wasn’t the customer—I was the operator.
***
The second my eyes snapped open, the background shifted like a loading screen. A pristine white office. Glass walls. Classic structure. I’d seen it a hundred times.
“Oh.” Succubus Company. The counseling center where Subin worked. I’d deliberately set it up that way.
“Let’s get started from here.”
I was wearing a full suit on purpose. Why? Because it was a dream. Even a NEET could be an executive in a dream.
***
Right then, a familiar voice came from the front.
“……Mr. Jitae?”
I looked up. It was Subin. But her outfit was different. Business suit. Name tag: Subin / Customer Management Team B Division. The succubus version, of course. That Subin I’d met in chapter 11.
“Eh?” Subin blinked at me. “Why did you come into this area? This isn’t the customer waiting room…”
At that moment, I realized. Ah, this was it. This was the male-gaze route opening properly for the first time.
“Eh?” Subin stared at me, stunned. Business suit. Snug jacket. Hair neatly tied back. Exactly the Subin from our first meeting. But her expression was different. Not the usual relaxed business smile, but the wide-eyed panic of someone who’d just seen a customer take a completely unexpected route.
“This is a staff-only area. The customer waiting room is—”
“I’m not a customer.”
I said it proudly.
“From today on, I’m a senior customer and test subject.”
Subin’s eyes went wide.
“……What?”
I tapped the floating transparent panel beside me. [Customer Rank: VIP (Temporary)] [Lucid Dream Intervention Permission: Partial Approved]
“Eh.” A dazed sound escaped Subin’s lips.
“Hey.”
“‘Hey’ sounds weird right now.”
“No, this is the company system—”
“It’s a dream.”
I grinned.
“And this is my dream.”
At that, Subin’s face froze solid. “…Wait. You know this is a dangerous idea, right?”
“That’s why it’s more fun.”
***
I flopped onto the sofa, crossed my legs, spread my arms wide. Total bully posture.
“Come on, Subin-senpai.”
“……Senior?”
“Let’s start responding to the customer, okay?”
Subin glared at me, then glanced around. Other succubus employees peeked through the glass, curious.
“……Mr. Jitae.”
“Eh?”
“This is considered unauthorized intervention by company standards.”
“Then I’ll just write it like that in the report.”
“What?”
“‘Customer went completely insane and stole the system.’”
The second I said it, Subin snorted a laugh. “…Wow, you’re even crazier than the human customers.”
“That’s why I’m VIP.”
***
Subin gave up with a sigh and stood in front of me, arms crossed.
“Then, what kind of counseling will we do today?”
“Um…” I cupped my chin, pretending to think hard. “Basically…”
“Yeah?”
“I want to heal you because your company life is so stressful lately.”
“……Me?”
“Yes, customer.”
Subin’s mouth twitched. “You know most ‘healing’ definitions are a bit off…”
“True. Today will be off too.”
***
I tapped the panel again.
[Counseling Environment Change]
[Lighting: Low]
[Temperature: +2]
The whole office dimmed, and the air felt subtly warmer.
“Hey.”
Subin reacted instantly. “Even changing the environment is too much—”
“It won’t get written in the report anyway.”
“…That’s true.”
“So just enjoy it. Today’s a ‘no-work work’ day.”
Subin let out a huge sigh. “Hah… I never thought a former succubus would be treated like this…”
***
I leaned in, bringing our faces level.
“How is it?”
“What?”
“Feels like coming back to work as a succubus, right?”
“…Worst.”
“But it’s a little fluttery, isn’t it?”
Subin didn’t answer. Instead, she took a tiny breath. I caught it.
“Then, today’s counseling topic is this.”
I tapped the panel again. White text floated in the air.
[Counseling Topic: ‘Stealing the Customer’s Control’]
“What is this?”
“Company training.”
“What kind of crap is this?”
“It just appeared.”
Subin narrowed her eyes. “You really went all out, didn’t you.”
“I saw the recovery team yesterday.”
I chuckled softly.
“Today I should enjoy it first. Fairness.”
***
Subin stayed silent for a moment, then slowly swept her hand over her jacket as if smoothing it and said, “…Okay.”
“Oh.”
“It’s a dream anyway. We can’t write it in the report.”
Her gaze drifted slowly from top to bottom. “Instead.”
“Instead?”
“I’ll respond as a succubus version too.”
“…What?”
The second she spoke, Subin’s expression completely changed. Business smile. Attached gaze. Breath slowing just a fraction. It was different.
“Welcome, customer.” The tone was completely different. “I heard you requested a very special service today.”
“…Hey, you said you were scared just a minute ago.”
“That’s my job.”
She stepped closer. Close enough that I could feel her breath. “……”
At that moment, my own breath hitched. Even knowing it was a dream, Subin’s succubus mode was still dangerous.
---
“But you know.” I leaned back on purpose and said, “Today I get to set the rules first.”
“…Rules?”
“Succubi are originally—”
I tapped the panel with my finger again.
[Work Ethos: ‘Customer First’ → ‘Succubus Nervousness’]
Subin’s body trembled just slightly.
“……Hey, you tampered with the emotion filter too?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you insane?”
“I’ve heard people say I’m crazy before.”
Subin’s breathing grew rougher. “Right now this… the business lines aren’t coming to mind…”
“Then stop doing business.”
I tilted my head.
“Just stay as Subin.”
The second I said it, Subin’s pupils spun wildly. Not the succubus eyes I knew, but the human eyes from chapter 11.
“…Jitae.”
“Yeah.”
“This is a pretty dangerous manipulation.”
“That’s why it’s more fun.”
---
Subin eventually sat in front of me. Completely different posture. No more rigid board-meeting stance. Instead, a tense, uneasy, very human sitting position.
“How do you feel, customer?”
“Good.”
“Too instant.”
“Good things should be said right away.”
“……”
Subin exhaled a long breath. It trembled slightly. I watched and said, “Hey, you right now—”
“What?”
“Are breathing more tense than when you were a succubus.”
“…Don’t say that.”
“I will.”
I grinned. “This is the real face of ‘succubus who’s off-duty.’”
---
Suddenly, a small notification chime rang from the office wall.
[Warning]
[Lucid Dream Over-Intervention Rate Rising]
[Attempting System Stabilization]
“It’s coming.” Subin noticed first.
“What?”
“The Administrators. Even in a dream, it detects.”
“Then we have to finish faster.”
“What?”
“End today’s counseling.”
I extended my hand. Subin stared at it for a second, then carefully took it. Her hand was trembling, just like it had when she tried to silence me in chapter 11.
“……Hey.”
“Yeah.”
“Even in dreams, there are emotions you can’t treat lightly.”
“I know.”
“I know, but I’m doing it anyway.”
I answered immediately. At those words, Subin’s breath shook violently.
“Hah…”
---
The office background began to crack and dissolve. Cracks spiderwebbed across the glass walls, the floor tiles blurred, the entire space trembled.
“Time’s up.” Subin said.
“If you wake up in reality, you might not remember this.”
“If I don’t remember, I’ll just come again, right?”
“……You’re really—”
“Since I’m a NEET, commuting is good enough.”
Subin let out a strange laugh at that. Not the succubus smile, not the business smile—just a perfectly human chuckle.
“Then come again tomorrow.”
“I don’t come to everyone who calls.”
“Still.” Subin gripped my hand tighter. “The ones who come… always end up coming back.”
That sentence lingered like the ending of this chapter. The office faded completely, the world turned white, and the dream shattered.
---
When I opened my eyes, I was back in the one-room apartment ceiling. Yellow fluorescent bulb. Faded wallpaper. Empty seat beside me.
“……Hah.” I let out a short laugh. “Commuting and coming home. Damn.”
I pulled the blanket up and muttered, “I guess I have to commute again tomorrow.”