Succubus Kim Nari
"I-I'm a succubus?"
"Yes. I'm certain."
Nari couldn't believe it. But what Keira said had to be the truth — she wasn't the sort of person who got things wrong.
"...But I don't know any of the abilities yet. I don't even know how I got in there or how I got out."
"You're still in the middle of fusing with it. Give it time and you'll gradually be able to use the skills."
"I see..."
Nari's face darkened. She had never once imagined she would become a monster.
"...So I'm not human anymore?"
"That's not it. You're still human, Leader. Just a human who can use a succubus's power."
"Hah..."
A sigh of pure relief slipped from Nari's lips unbidden.
"Ah — your lifespan might have gotten a little longer, though. That's fine, right?"
"Yes, that's fine."
Power, a longer life, becoming a succubus — none of that was so bad... or rather, it absolutely was. Because if it weren't, Nari wouldn't be standing here in Elena's room right now.
"...What's the side effect?"
"You follow a succubus's instincts."
"A succubus's instincts...?"
"Just think about what you were doing in that dream a moment ago."
"Th-that..."
The scenes from moments earlier replayed automatically in Nari's mind. She had tried to take Jungmin's cock into her mouth. It hadn't been her will — in the dream, her body simply wouldn't listen.
Heat flooded her face.
"...Is there no way to not do that?"
"Judging by how you came looking for a 'man' in your sleep, I'd say it's going to be difficult."
"What about with time? Once I get used to the power, could I control it?"
Nari asked with a faint thread of hope.
"No."
Keira shook her head without hesitation.
"Succubi are beings from another dimension. Demons, essentially. A demon constantly burns energy just to exist in this dimension, so that energy has to be replenished without rest. Otherwise, they vanish."
"That means..."
Nari swallowed, already anticipating what came next.
"Yes, exactly. From now on, Leader, you'll have to absorb a man's essence every day. If you don't, you'll die."
It was precisely what Nari had feared.
...This is insane. I have to do that every single day?
It was horrifying. She couldn't picture herself doing something like that of her own accord. Being forced into it would be one thing — but initiating it herself filled her with a deep, visceral revulsion.
That's where pee comes out. It's dirty, isn't it?
She never said that out loud, because her friends always looked at her strangely when she did. But she had always thought it. If someone threw that back at her and asked how clean she thought she was, she wouldn't have an answer — she didn't think of herself as clean either. So her position was simply that neither party should do it.
Strictly speaking, her thinking might not have been entirely wrong. Most people were simply blinded by love and the drive to reproduce, enduring something they didn't even realize they were enduring. Nari, who felt neither love nor lust, simply couldn't endure it.
"...Huh? Leader?"
Jungmin sat up. The blanket slid down, revealing the solid chest she had seen in the dream. That much, Nari could handle. But whatever lay below it — she had no confidence she could look at that.
She dropped her gaze so she wouldn't have to see him.
"...Hup."
Jungmin yanked the blanket back up in a hurry and spoke with only his face exposed.
"...Sorry. But what's going on? And why is Keira here?"
"What kind of dream did you just have?"
"Just now?"
At Keira's question, Jungmin's eyes drifted naturally toward Nari.
"...Do I really have to tell you?"
"You already told me everything, so what's the point of holding back now? That was the Leader herself."
"...What?"
Nari wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear from sheer mortification. She wanted to beg him to forget the disgraceful spectacle from the dream.
"The Leader became a succubus."
"...What?"
The more Jungmin reeled, the further Nari shrank into herself. That afternoon she had been thrilled about her new potential — and less than twelve hours later, everything had turned upside down. It felt as though her entire life had suddenly gone off the rails.
While Nari was lost in her own spiraling thoughts, Jungmin got the full situation from Keira.
"Um, Leader...?"
Jungmin's voice snapped her back to reality. She had already been thinking, for some time now, about what she needed to say to him first. She bowed her head a little lower.
"Yes, Jungmin. I'm sorry. Without realizing it, I entered your dream and... forced myself on you... I truly, sincerely apologize."
Even the apology was hard to get out. The word "assault" in particular stuck in her throat. She had spent her entire life walling herself off from this kind of subject, and she had never once imagined herself standing on the perpetrator's side.
But Keira, watching from the side, cut in.
"Sexual assault — no, attempted sexual violence would be the accurate term, wouldn't it?"
It was a precise correction. Nari had known that already, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to say it, so she had substituted the softer word. Only after Keira pointed it out did she recognize how complacent and self-serving that choice had been.
"...I'm sorry, Jungmin. It wasn't just assault... it was sexual violence. That's correct. Even if it stopped at an attempt... an attempt is still a crime. I won't make excuses. I'll accept any punishment. I am truly sorry."
Nari dropped to her knees in a rush. Talking it through, she realized that whether she had become a succubus or not was no longer the point. Admitting the wrong and asking for forgiveness came first.
"Could you stand up for a moment?"
Jungmin's warm voice came from above her bowed head.
"No. I am truly sorry."
The urge to rise at the sound of that voice surged up in her, but she held it down. The crime she had committed was not something that could be brushed aside with a casual "it was a mistake."
"Don't make me say it twice. Stand up first, Leader."
...Huh?
For a second Nari thought she had heard that somewhere before — and then she realized those were the exact words she herself had spoken that afternoon. Only then did she understand, just a little, why the four of them had knelt before her earlier. Especially how anxious Jungmin must have been.
With the same uneasy, uncomfortable feeling Jungmin must have felt, Nari slowly raised her head.
His face came into view. He was smiling. In that moment, Jungmin's expression looked like the smile of a Buddha. She almost thought she saw a halo glowing behind him.
"I accept your apology. Just as you forgave me for my rudeness, I'll forgive you too, Leader. We're good now, right?"
"..."
Nari barely held back the tears. Tears of gratitude and relief — the same feeling she had when Nayeon came back from the dead.
"Just don't do it again. All right?"
"...Yes. I won't do it again."
Absolutely not. Nari made a firm resolution.
That resolution lasted less than three seconds.
"I'm afraid you will have to do it again."
"...What?"
Nari turned toward Keira. Keira was smiling too — but it was a different kind of smile. If Jungmin's was an angel's, Keira's belonged to a devil.
"I told you, didn't I? From now on, Leader, you have to absorb someone's essence."
"Th-th-th... I'll handle that problem somehow myself."
Nari just wanted to get out of this room. The wave of events crashing over her had left her completely unable to think straight. But Keira showed no intention of letting her go.
"Not 'somehow' — you need to solve it right now. Otherwise you'll end up in someone else's dream again. If not Jungmin's, whose dream will you enter? Are there any other men in this building? Or are you going to call someone in right this second?"
"That's..."
Another man...? Not Jungmin?
If it wasn't Jungmin, that wasn't better either. It would still be the same sexual violence. And even if she found someone else, it would have to be with consent — but she could hardly go around saying she needed to drain their essence in a dream. That was the kind of story that would stain the reputation of a crew leader.
That won't work.
"In my opinion, that leaves only Jungmin. You think so too, right, Leader? You'd prefer Jungmin, wouldn't you?"
Nari almost nodded without thinking, then stopped herself in a hurry. No matter the circumstances, she couldn't make another demand of the person she had just begged forgiveness from.
"No, that's not—"
"It's fine. We all understand. This is a situation you can't help, right? Jungmin, what about you? Providing essence for the Leader?"
"...What about you, Keira? Are you okay with that?"
Ah...
Only when she heard Jungmin's question did Nari realize this wasn't a matter between just the two of them. Keira, as his girlfriend, also held a claim over the sexual side of Jungmin's life.
And then—
"Me? I'm fine. Elena, what about you?"
Elena too...?
"I'll follow Keira's will."
Watching Elena answer so naturally, Nari's mouth fell open. She blinked several times, double-checking that she had interpreted correctly. She had. Elena was clearly also in some form of romantic relationship with Jungmin.
"Ah... you didn't know, Leader? The three of us decided to be together. It might be unthinkable on Earth, but in my world and Elena's, it's common."
"Ah, r-right. There are places on Earth where that's possible too."
"Exactly. I've heard that. I've even been thinking about changing my nationality to one of those places later, if I can. Anyway — could you keep this a secret? Everyone would be pretty shocked."
"Ah, no — shocked? Everyone will understand. Jungmin is that capable, that outstanding a person, so..."
Nari flailed, spouting whatever came to mind in her fluster, then stopped. Even she could tell it made no sense.
"Ahem. I'll keep the secret. I was a little surprised, but please know I don't think it's strange. Somehow it just... made sense to me naturally."
"Thank you. Then shall we go back to the earlier topic? We're fine with it, Jungmin. Now it's your choice."
"..."
Jungmin didn't answer easily. Nari found that curious. She had always heard that men never hesitated when an opportunity like this presented itself. Of course it varied by person — but for someone who already had two partners to be this careful was hard to imagine. Which only made her feel how much he treasured the two of them.
"I... I don't know. I don't want to say it doesn't matter just because it was a dream. If there's no other way, then I'll have to do it again, but... is there another method of providing essence?"
"That's our Jungmin. There is another way. Providing your semen should work, probably."
"Huh?"
"What?"
Jungmin and Nari both startled at the same time. Keira wore a sly smile, clearly enjoying their reactions.
"How about it? Leader, you struggled even with the act in a dream, so drinking semen might be more manageable."
"Certainly... that much might be possible."
Just close your eyes and swallow. Better than being shoved by some unknown force into doing something she didn't want to do.
"Jungmin? Is this enough of a compromise?"
"...Is it just me, or does this feel even more embarrassing?"
"It might be embarrassing, but psychologically it's a lot less entangled."
"You're right. That much, I think I can handle."
"Great. Then let's do it right now."
"Huh?"
"What?"
Nari and Jungmin reacted exactly as they had a moment before.
"Why so shocked? Leader, this situation is not something you can take lightly. You're in a state where vanishing at any moment wouldn't be surprising."
"Ah, yes..."
"So Elena — take the Leader outside for a bit."
"Yes, Keira."
Elena rose at once and led Nari out. Nari still had no idea what was happening. Jungmin was in roughly the same boat.
"Wait, what about my opinion? I—"
Slurp. Slurp.
Through the door, the vivid three-dimensional sounds reached Nari's ears. She almost clapped her hands over them on instinct, then lowered them again out of awareness of Elena beside her. Elena offered a gentle smile.
"The goddess of mercy and love, Lu, loves even those without sexual desire. Follow your heart, Leader."
"Thank you."
Nari didn't refuse the offer — she covered her ears. Not hearing the sounds, not imagining the scene that was producing them, would be far more helpful for what she was about to do: drink the semen.
Can I even drink it?
From Nari's perspective, semen and urine weren't that different. Qualitatively they clearly were, but emotionally they felt the same.
They say if you go long enough without water, you'll drink urine...
She was in a similar situation now. If she wanted to live, she had to drink it.
Before long, Keira called the two of them back in. She handed Nari a cup. A paper cup, about half full of a white liquid.
"Here. Drink up."
"Hold on — does she really have to drink it here? That can't be right. At the very least, can I leave?"
"No, you need to stay. If you get too far away, the essence might lose its effect."
That had been exactly the question Nari wanted to ask, but Keira had already shut it down.
Nari swallowed. She had steeled herself, but she still couldn't bring herself to act.
"For reference, that's an enormous amount. Truly impressive, if I do say so. But you have to drink it all in one go. Otherwise the effect will drop."
Keira said it almost like a boast, but none of it registered in Nari's ears. The chestnut-blossom scent of the semen was paralyzing her mind.
Just drink it. Just swallow.
Dragging this out wouldn't help anyone. Nari closed both eyes and tipped the paper cup in one motion.
Gulp. Gulp.
The scent of chestnut blossoms filled her mouth. The slick texture of the liquid was, frankly, unpleasant. The swallow was no better — it was sticky and didn't go down easily. Nari clenched down on the urge to spit it out and forced every last drop down her throat.
"Once you've finished, tip it over your head and shake it out."
Nari did as Keira instructed. Not a single drop fell.
"Hey, you..."
"Good. Leader — how do you feel?"
Nari was about to say it was awful, then decided to rephrase out of consideration for Jungmin. But then, genuinely, the taste suddenly changed.
The moment it passed her throat, she felt the semen spreading through her entire body. More precisely, it was a warm energy — a sensation of being wrapped from head to toe. Like sinking into a bath of warm water.
"Mmm..."
Nari savored it without meaning to, then opened her eyes.
"It's good. The taste wasn't great, but the feeling is incredible."
She meant it. Right now, she felt like she could drink as much as she wanted.
A few seconds later, Nari realized what she had just said. She had, in front of Jungmin, drunk Jungmin's semen and declared that it tasted good.
"..."
"..."
Neither Jungmin nor Nari could look at the other. Both of their faces had gone red as beets.
"Heh heh."
Only Keira, off to the side, wore a smile of pure triumph.
"If it feels that good, then it was definitely absorbed as essence. Confirmed — semen works as a substitute. You'll need to drink more tomorrow, so... hmm, I'll take care of preparing it. You'll have to drink it every time, all right?"
"Yes, understood. Keira. So I can go now, right?"
"Yes. Good work, Leader."
Nari fled the room in a flurry of embarrassment. Because of that, she wouldn't realize until the next day just how terrifying a promise she had made.